Sync Stories: Event Planning with Resilio Sync

Sync Stories is a column dedicated to our users. Each week, we showcase a different use case for Resilio Sync (formerly BitTorrent Sync) and the personal stories behind it.

In this week’s edition: Chris Dillon – managing director of AVE Services, an audio/visual and events company in the South of England – talks about how his company uses Sync to work effectively with clients and amongst the team.

From Chris:

As any bride, party planner, or communications officer can tell you, event organising presents a myriad of stresses, challenges and of course rewards. The date itself, and the days leading up to it, become a melting pot of organising people, transport, technology, venues, food and responding quickly to the inevitable problems that arise.

For an event organiser, waking up at 3:30am, already mid-leap towards the computer to check a presentation, video, or simply just to send an email, is standard practice.

In the summer of 2013 – when we decided to start AVE Services – we knew that to arrange incredible events for others, we had to be sure that our own organisation was spot on. With this in mind, we began sourcing tools that allowed us to work efficiently, reliably and to a professional grade.
Resilio Sync was top of our list. We had been following it closely since BitTorrent, Inc. announced it and could not wait to see what we could do with it. We had previously used a clumsy mixture of Dropbox to sync office files and Rapidshare to send large video files. It was a slow and frustrating process, with Dropbox mocking us from the taskbar every day that our storage was full and we should pay for more space.

The day we created our first Sync folder was a good day indeed.
We installed it on our three office computers, our personal laptops, phones and a remote server. The server – hosted at a great value rate by BHost – was on all the time, allowing a decent download speed 24/7. We installed 4G dongles in our vans too, meaning that we could manage files at remote locations. Whereas before, being sent a .mp4 from a presenter 10 minutes before it is due to be played in front of the audience would place our hearts squarely in our throats, we now know that we can respond calmly and wow our clients.
We found that after the 1.4 update, our clients were a lot happier with using the improved UI on Sync. We have already received many positive comments about how easy and convenient it is to work. Using Sync with clients allows us to keep a transparent preparation process between all parties involved in the event; they see how up to date we are and so know exactly what to expect. It keeps us performing our best and it allows them to work with us easier.

Our events business structure is incredibly decentralised. We have an office, but our staff are often out on site or staying away. Sync allows us to share graphics, documents, pictures, and code with each other so we can manage our website without being confined to one place. It allows us to take our office with us wherever we go. It’s so reassuring too to know that we stay in charge of our files. When we’re dealing with confidential data, the last thing we want is for a data breach beyond our control to land us in trouble. We take our client’s data seriously and trust no one but us to look after it.

In addition to events, we also provide filming, video production and live streaming services. By syncing these huge files with other computers, we instantly keep everything backed up and can have the files synced with our powerful video production computer instantly. This allows for a quicker turn around with projects.

Looking Ahead with Sync

Inspired by Sync, we’re currently in the process of setting up ‘public folders’ to provide stock footage and photos for free back into the videography and photography community. We know that putting on events is all about teamwork and thanks to Sync, we can create a wiki of stock footage for our freelancers and friends to access.

All in all, Sync has become such a central part to the way that we work every day.

So as I bring this to an end, knowing that I will click ‘save’ instantly into the sync so that my colleague can proof read it for me, I want to really express how grateful we are to Sync for keeping their services open, and putting other companies performances and prices to shame. Thank you.

You can reach Chris and inquire about AVE Services at their website.For more info on Sync, click here.